My Dearest Gabriella
by jiapryor
Summary: Troy has left for war. Not being able to handle seeing Gabriella for possibly the last time, he writes her a letter expressing his feelings for her.   "I'll be Mrs. Troy Bolton."


**This is an _Alternate Universe_ story where Troy has gone to war. There characters are minimal OOC. **

**Troy is writing to Gabriella in this. His letter is the italics. The regular font is Gabriella's perspective as she is reading his letter. **

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><p><em>Dear Gabriella, <em>

_I'm sorry to say this, but I've enlisted to join the army. It hurts me so much to know that I'll be separated from you. It feels like eternity. _

I paused while reading the letter to allow a few droplets of tears fall onto _my_ letter. As the tears hit, the ink instantly spread. I could imagine Troy furiously writing this, his mop of hair a disarray. I continued to read with a slight smile set upon my face.

_I didn't want to do this, but we had no other choice. I prayed to God for another option, but it seems to me that this is it. We have to do this. It takes cooperation from both of us. _

My dark brown locks of hair tumbled into my face as I held my head in my hands, sobbing profusely. My Troy was _gone_. There was no life for me without him. The only option I had was to pray to God like Troy that he would live through his... our experience.

_I just want you to know that I love you with all of my heart. You were—ARE—my life, my love, everything in the world. I could gaze into your gorgeous dark eyes, and all of my worries would melt away. I have but one regret: more time. After two long, prosperous years for us, it still doesn't seem like enough, Gabriella. Do you get it? It's like no matter how much time we've been given, we still want more. I'm greedy. I'm a glutton for time. I want more time with you. A lifetime wouldn't even be enough. I'm in love with you._

I wiped my eyes, my mascara getting smeared, but I didn't care. "Oh, God, I'm in love with you too, Troy," I said out loud to myself. I glanced at the picture of us at the state fair. We both had on matching outfits. Red skinny jeans, white converse, and a blue shirt. His was crew neck, and mine was a V. Troy was embarrassed and questioned me relentlessly why we had to where red, white, and blue. I responded by telling him that we were proud of our country.

It turns out he was prouder than I thought.

_You've turned into the forbidden fruit for me. You're there, but I'm here, fighting through this living hell. It hurts so much. I want to be discharged and grasp you tightly in my arms, never letting go. I want to feel your soft lips graze mine, distracting me from the perils of the world. I want all of that so much, but I can't have it... at least not yet. Gabriella, what if I died?_

I gasped and put the letter down. Troy couldn't die. I'd be devastated. What would I do? What would his mother do? No matter how proud of him we were, I would never consent with his death- even if it was for his... our country. He wasn't going to die. I put my nails to my mouth and grasped it in thought. _What if Troy died? _Then I couldn't go on. He was my world. He was my other half. I wasn't complete without Troy Bolton. I wanted to be Gabriella Bolton. I'd even remove my mother's maiden name: Montez. I wanted to be his in every way possible.

_If I happened to, I want you to have back up._ _I want you to be able to live your life without relying on me. I don't want you to be miserable. But I'm not going to die. I'm coming back to be with you as soon as I can. I promise. So I have another question for you. Okay, Gabriella?_

I prayed with all of my might that it wasn't another heart wrenching question for me to answer. I read on.

_I want you to be mine. Be Mrs. Troy Bolton. With every step together, we'll just keep on getting better. I promise. _

Was he asking me to marry him?

_Before you go any further reading this, I want you to look in the box that came with my letter. Open it up._

I picked myself up from the bed and walked over to the dresser. I carefully opened the cardboard box, revealing a red suede ring case. Lifting the lid, a diamond ring shone brightly. I gently caressed the ring in my hands while inspecting it. I cannot believe Troy would buy me something so wonderful. Butterflies laced my stomach. I ran back to the letter.

_Marry me._ _I hope you liked the ring, Mrs. Bolton. I hope you say yes, because I refuse to take "no" as an answer. Be my wife. Be mine. _

"I'm yours," I whispered softly. "I'm always be yours, Troy." Tears spilled from my eyes, landing on the letter once again. I was Troy's. I was complete.

_I want to have forever with you, my dearest Gabriella. I want to experience everything life has to offer with you. I'm so selfish; I won't share you with anybody. As soon as I get back, I plan to officially get married. I don't care where we are, as long as it's official. Make sure to be ready, because time here is going by quickly. I love you. Time goes on forever, like my love will for you. So don't be sad. I don't want you crying tears, and getting your gorgeous cheeks tear stained. _

I hugged the letter, and kissed Troy handwriting several times.

_Just remember, I love you no matter what happens, Gabriella._

"I love you more."

_With all of my love and more,  
><em>_Troy, a.k.a., 'Wildcat'_

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><p><strong>The end :) I hope that you enjoyed reading this. Would you mind dropping a review?<strong>

_**- Jia Marie**_


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